2. The Dodgers have turned their season around over the last two months. Through June 21, they were 30-42 and 9.5 games back in the NL West. Since then they have gone an MLB-best 46-11 and lead the NL West by 9.5 games.

They haven’t dropped a series since losing two of three at Pittsburgh June 14-16, going 14-0-4 since. The 18-series unbeaten streak -- which is on the line Sunday night -- is a franchise record and the longest in a single season by any team since the 2002 Atlanta Braves went undefeated in 22 straight series, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

3. Yasiel Puig doesn’t waste any time at the plate when he sees a pitch he thinks he can hit.

Puig swings at the first pitch in almost half of his at-bats and is hitting .600 when putting the first pitch in play.

However, it’s literally hit or miss for Puig on the first pitch. Since his debut on June 3, no player has more first-pitch hits (30) or first-pitch missed swings (47) than Puig.

4. The Red Sox are looking to become just the seventh team since the current divisional format began in 1995, and the first in the AL since the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays, to go from worst-to-first in their division.

This would be the first time in franchise history that the Red Sox won their division/league the year after finishing in last place.

5. Jake Peavy is on the mound for Boston. Peavy, however, is no stranger to Chavez Ravine, having played for the San Diego Padres in the first seven-plus seasons of his career. Peavy is 13-2 with a 2.27 ERA in 24 career starts versus the Dodgers.

According to Elias, Peavy has the highest win percentage versus the Dodgers of any pitcher in major league history with at least 15 decisions against the team.

Joe McDonald

Joe McDonald, a native Rhode Islander, joined ESPNBoston.com as a Bruins and Red Sox reporter in February 2010. He worked at the Providence Journal for 18 years and covered the Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots, PawSox and Providence Bruins. He's a three-time winner of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association's state Sportswriter of the Year for Rhode Island. Follow him on Twitter here.